I have a love hate relationship with fresh fruits and vegetables. I love buying them. They always look so delicious at the store; shiny, fresh and delicious. I bring them home with such hopes of what I am going to do with them; all of the recipes that I am going to create. After two weeks when it is time to get the shopping list ready again I find myself throwing out the mush that once resembled those yummy fruits and veggies. It is a vicious cycle. Sadly, with working full time I don’t make dinner every night and these poor veggies end up dying a slow painful death. It is so sad and such a waste of money.

This is why that in preparation for our trip, I decided I would try to use up all of the fruits and veggies in our fridge so that I wouldn’t have to throw them out. I got to make all of those delicious foods that I crave when I walk through the grocery store.

First up -Vegetarian Pizza with fresh crust:

I found this recipe for a 30 minute pizza crust that didn’t require the dough to rise endless number of times. Since I love easy and since I have a lot of yeast in the cupboards to use up, I decided to give it a try. The verdict – it is very easy to make and it does taste just like a normal pizza crust.

I added some olive oil, some herbs de province, tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella. It came out delicious! This is definitely a great way to use up some veggies. The best part about it is that even with making the dough it took less than an hour to prepare. This is definite a plus for a busy girl like me.

Next up - Banana Bread

I have a delicious recipe for banana bread that I adore. It is super simple to make and I always have all the ingredients on hand. I don’t own a loaf pan so I use a cake pan. The end result is the same – delicious. Sometimes when I am feeling daring I add some dark chocolate chunks. Is there a better combination than chocolate bananas and walnuts?

Last up – Zucchini and Mushroom risotto style rice

I love risotto but have no patience to make it. I can’t stand hovering over the stove stirring and pouring and so I make this quick alternative.

Typically you are supposed to grate the zucchini and add it to the rice along with the cooking liquid and mushrooms but Cornel hates zucchini so I add it to blender when I puree all the other veggies.

This recipe is super simple. In a blender add ½ an onion, a small carrot, one celery stalk all chopped into a blender. Add about 2 tbs of oil and blend until pureed.

Add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of beef broth (or your choice of broth). Bring to a boil and then add 1 cup of grated zucchini and ½ cup of chopped mushrooms. Reduce heat and cover and cook rice as long as indicated on the box (typically 20 minutes). Top with grated parmesan cheese right before serving. Makes a great vegetarian dinner!